Famous Rescues

Astronauts on NASA's Apollo 13 mission were miraculously saved before their ship's oxygen, water, and power ran out. (NASA)

Miracle on the Hudson (2009)On January 15, 2009, a US Airways flight took off from New York City and was on its way to Charlotte, North Carolina. It didn't get very far. Shortly after takeoff, the plane hit a flock of geese, which were sucked into the plane's engines. That caused both engines to lose power. With no time to redirect the plane to another airport, the pilot, Captain Chesley Sullenberger, decided to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew survived.

Baby Jessica (1987)On Oct. 14, 1987, an 18-month-old girl named Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas. She became trapped 22 feet underground. Rescuers drilled through solid rock for more than two days to get her out. News agencies across the nation covered her rescue.

Andes Flight Disaster (1972)On Oct. 13, 1972, an airplane that took off from the South American nation of Uruguay crashed into the Andes Mountains on the border between Argentina and Chile. Out of 45 passengers, only 27 survived the crash. Rescue missions searched for them for several days but could not find the plane and finally gave up the search. Some of the survivors died from exposure to freezing temperatures, from injuries, and from a lack of food and water. After about two months, two of the survivors hiked out of the mountains to find help. On the way, they ran into a Chilean man on horseback. He helped them alert authorities to the location of the remaining 14 survivors.

Apollo 13 (1970)On April 11, 1970, NASA sent its third spaceship to the moon with astronauts onboard ready to walk the lunar surface. But the ship never got there. Two days into the journey, an oxygen tank on the ship exploded, damaging the electrical system. That left three astronauts stranded in space—200,000 miles above Earth. The astronauts and NASA worked together to get the spacecraft back to Earth before oxygen, water, and any remaining power ran out. Six days later, the spaceship with the crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.